The field of the invention is decorative lighting and the invention relates more particularly to lighting capable of adorning wearing apparel. Numerous devices, most commonly using light-emitting diodes (L.E.D.s) are shown in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,580 uses snaps to hold wires which in turn hold small light bulbs to the surface of a garment. The battery is held in a pocket of the garment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,008 uses a flexible printed circuit board holding numerous L.E.D.s. U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,293 also uses a printed circuit sheet with L.E.D.s on a sweat shirt. U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,682 shows a fabric sleeve having L.E.D.s. The L.E.D.s are energized by a battery and are connected by wiring and both the battery and wiring are on the inner surface of the sleeve. U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,191 shows a jacket with L.E.D.s protruding from the back surface of an article of wearing apparel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,603 shows a garment with light conducting fibers held to the outer surface of a garment by over-stitching. The light source and a portion of the fibers are positioned on the inner surface of the garment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,434 shows an elaborate flexible printed circuit board utilizing L.E.D.s for decorative light sources. U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,642 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,777 show a garment with an electrically conductive harness which holds many L.E.D.s. Lastly, one of the present inventors is the inventor of U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,434 which shows a leather article decorated with L.E.D.s. Another patent by the named inventor is U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,780 which also utilizes L.E.D.s protruding the material of the garment with the conductive wiring on the back surface.
The problem with all of the prior art devices includes the relatively high cost of preparing and assembling the finished decorative article. Many of the prior art garments utilize opaque materials to support the light emitting members. Such opaque materials detract from the appearance of the decorated article.